


a chain of humans stretching backward

by MiniNephthys



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, 真女神転生IV FINAL | Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Genre: Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8235893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: Hallelujah and Mirai bond, and then bond again sometime later.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Self-indulgent as heck.

Kids being technical members of the Ashura-kai isn’t uncommon: if your parents are Ashura-kai, you’re Ashura-kai by extension. Even if nobody’s gonna entrust a demon to children, they might have them help watch shops or do other menial jobs when they get old enough to take on a little responsibility.

Even with that, Mirai’s a pretty weird case. Hallelujah has no idea who her parents are, or if she even has any, but she’s clearly allowed in Ashura-kai spaces, and she has a cell phone with demons in it. If anyone ever tries to question that, Abe shuts them down with a simple, “Let her do what she wants.”

And that’s that - what Abe says goes. Hallelujah wonders if maybe he’s a family friend.

He asks her that one day, when there isn’t much to do, and Mirai thinks her answer over before replying. “Kind of, I guess? He and my Papa go way back, but I don’t really like him as a person.”

That’s fair. A lot of people don’t like Abe, some even in the Ashura-kai. But Hallelujah feels the need to protest a little anyway. “Bro’s really turned the Ashura-kai around. You’ve gotta at least respect him for that, right?”

She shakes her head. “Nope.”

...No arguing with kids.

She has the clear respect of her demons, even though Hallelujah’s never seen her fight herself. He doesn’t think she could - she can’t be older than twelve, and there’s not many demons even the toughest of twelve-year-olds could face down. Her demons never let anything else get close to her, but Hallelujah can’t help but be a tiny bit concerned when he sees her out in the field.

(Abe scolds him for getting distracted from his own enemies worrying about other people. Hallelujah doesn’t have it in him to argue, even though part of him wants to protest that she’s even younger than him.)

She’s nice to people whether they’re Ashura-kai or not, but she doesn’t let anyone push her around, not even top-ranking members. People used to try more often, but she wins any fights she gets into, so now she pretty much just gets her own way. At least she doesn’t abuse that - she’s pretty even-tempered, for a kid.

Mirai is probably one of the few people Hallelujah would consider a ‘friend’ within the organization, which says less about her and more about him. She has her demons heal up his wounds if he comes back with any, and listens to him talk about what little he’s accomplished like she’s genuinely interested in what he has to say. Which is nicer than it should be.

He confides in her a little. Not a lot, because she’s a kid, but having anyone to listen to him is better than no one.

“Do you think I’ll ever prove myself?” he asks.

She doesn’t hesitate to reply: “Yep. You’re gonna be great. Better than Abe.”

“I can’t even picture that. Is that just because you don’t like Bro, or-”

“No,” she says, firmly. “You’ve got the right stuff in you, you just need to grow up a little first.”

“...Really don’t want to hear that from a kid,” he says. “But… thanks. It’s nice that somebody believes in me.”

He tells her later that she can call him ‘big bro’ if she wants, and she laughs, not meanly, and turns him down.

After he joins up with Nanashi and company, he doesn’t see much of her for a while. He does occasionally find himself wondering how she is, but for the most part he’s too busy with the trouble they keep running into to worry about other people.

The next time he sees more than a glimpse of her is after he’s taken control of the Ashura-kai. He’s definitely not thinking much of her then - part of him is still recovering from the fight against his father, and the rest of him is busy doing paperwork the top brass is making him fill out before he can officially become head of the organization.

She walks into the office without knocking and clears her throat. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Oh - sure, Mirai.” He puts down his pen - this probably won’t take long. “It feels like forever since we’ve gotten to talk - how’ve you been?”

Mirai narrows her eyes a little at the question. “Well, somebody just killed my papa, so I’ve been better.”

“Oh- oh, crap, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Way to be an insensitive jerk, Hallelujah. He feels like crap.

“It’s okay. He’ll come back. Demon summoners kill Papa a lot, it never sticks for more than a decade,” she says.

That makes all his guilt disappear, replaced with confusion. “...Uh, what?”

“You’re not the only Devil Child here,” she says, simply. He stares at her as she goes on. “Actually, that was what I came to talk to you about. Papa didn’t want me messing with your dad’s business and telling you anything, but your dad can’t complain right now and neither can Papa.”

The Ashura-kai that were at the battle against Lucifer and Merkabah know that he’s a half-demon now, since he isn’t hiding it in battle anymore, and it’s possible one of them told her about it, but… “You’re a half-demon? Really?”

“Devil Child is the technical term. It’s more flattering than things like ‘half-breed’ and whatever else you’ve heard.” A pentagram briefly glows on her forehead, before disappearing. “I didn’t get as lucky as you when it comes to looks.”

“Uh… It’s not like I’m super handsome when I use my powers…” Seriously, he’d kill to have just a little mark like that-

Flatly, Mirai says, “I’m twenty-five years old and I look like this.”

“...I’ve never been more grateful to have hit puberty before. God, I hope I don’t look like this for ten more years…” That’s an even more horrifying thought than facing Merkabah and Lucifer again.

“You might?” Mirai says. “Papa says my aging is slow and not stopped, so eventually I’ll be able to drink at bars and everything. It’s just really annoying.”

“I bet. People treating you like a kid has to stink-” Something hits him, and he flushes, sheepish. “Which… I’ve been doing.”

“It’s okay,” she says with a smile. “You didn’t know, and seeing you try to big brother me was cute. I bet you’d be a good big brother if I were actually a kid.”

“Thanks.” Somehow that’s the most embarrassing thing he’s heard all day. “So… wait. Your dad… Which demon was he?” The question he doesn’t want to ask: did he die because of Hallelujah?

Her smile disappears. “...It’s not like every demon is as bad as Samyaza. Everybody’s capable of loving their children, even demons. And Papa’s really kind to me, as much as he can be. He didn’t hide who he was from me because it was inconvenient for him.” She sighs. “I’m pretty mad you killed my Papa, but I know you had to do it for humanity, so I’m not going to fight you over it. ...Anyway, Lucifer always comes back, so I’ll see him again.”

Oh. Lucifer’s definitely dead because of Hallelujah. And because of Nanashi and the others, of course, but the guilt from before is back.

“...Lucifer was an okay dad?” he asks, because he can’t really apologize for doing what he had to do. He’ll own his decision, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel bad for it hurting other people.

“Mhm. I’ve got photos but you can’t recognize him in them because he’s a shapeshifter, so I don’t know why I bother keeping them around.”

Mirai sounds fond. Even if she hadn’t already said so, it’d be obvious that she cares about her dad. Who is Demon Lord Lucifer. That’s still a weird thought.

“Anyway, is there anything else you wanted to know about being a Devil Child? I’m here for Q and A.”

Hallelujah has to think about it. He’d thought of questions for his dad a million times before, but not so much some random other half-demon. The first thing he comes up with is, “Can you do magic too?”

“No! I swear I got the worst luck, I’m stuck looking like I’m ten and I can’t even do magic to protect myself,” she grumbles. “If I could fight decently without it it’d be fine…”

He pats her shoulder, trying to be comforting. “Maybe you’ll learn sometime?”

“In fifty years, maybe,” she says. “I’m gonna kick the ass of everybody who’s ever patronized me.”

Hallelujah stops patting her shoulder.


End file.
